July 14, 2005 -- Winkowski Sp. z o. o. of Poland is currently enjoying the benefits provided by seven QuadTech Color Control Systems installed in the last six months. The installation of an additional two Color Control Systems in the near future will further enhance the company’s ability to provide the highest quality print for its many customers.
Jakub Dylag, Winkowski Production Manager comments, “We have one of the biggest print capacities in Europe and produce a number of weekly and monthly international titles. The explosion in the use of color within the Polish market means that color control from copy-to-copy and from title-to-title is increasingly important to please both readers and advertisers.
Our QuadTech Color Control Systems give us the ability to fully meet this need for our customers.”
Winkowski produces some of Poland’s biggest weekly magazines; with Newsweek, Polityka Przekroj and Ozon having circulations of between 300,000 and 500,000 copies. The company prides itself on high quality production, another key reason behind its choice for a variety of other quality international monthly titles, including the Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Russian and Ukrainian editions of the prestigious National Geographic magazine and also the Polish edition of Playboy.
Mr Dylag comments, “An average press run for us is in the region of 80,000 to 200,000 copies. Our plates are usually made 24 hours before printing, but in the case of the weekly publications this deadline is much shorter. Often, it is only 1.5 hours from receipt of last materials from prepress to good copies on press. Using well over 4000 plates, we print the equivalent of 60 million 16-page products per week.
“In such a high production volume setting, and due to our commitment to offering accurate, sharp and vibrant color, it is imperative that we use ancillary press controls to maintain and enhance quality standards.”
The QuadTech Color Control System employs closed-loop control to shorten makeready times and enhance productivity throughout the press run. Operating at full press speeds, its patented, video-densitometer-based technology quickly detects and analyzes printed micro colorbars and instantly adjusts the press in real time to maintain accurate control over both four-color process and PMS colors. This results in excellent color consistency throughout the entire press run.
The Solid Ink Density Control feature allows press operators to predefine ink-density target values and then automatically maintain those values throughout the print run. Mr Dylag comments, “With color control technology, the production run is now twice as stable and the quality is remarkably better. Before, to manually adjust the ink density by hand, it would take at least 45 minutes. We can now reach perfect setup for ink density in three minutes.
“Coupling the increase in quality and productivity with the 30% decrease in waste we are currently experiencing, the QuadTech Color Control System could easily pay for itself within two years. Existing customers are commenting on the improved print quality, and they can see the benefits of the equipment. It is a powerful tool for our sales team who can be more competitive on pricing and be really sure about quality that we can provide. And, of course, it is a major benefit for our printers, as they can work much quicker by successfully accessing dot gain and trapping almost straight away.”
As well as the QuadTech Color Control Systems, Winkowski also has both the QuadTech Register Guidance System IV and the QuadTech PPC 3000X cutoff control. “All three systems are very natural and easy to use and we now know them so well, that we are able to fine tune our presses to ensure we get the highest quality,” said Mr Dylag. “The maintenance of our other equipment has also improved as a result of the new technology, as our operators now have a better view of what is going on with the presses.
“The QuadTech Color Control System is also a great tool for setting up the press. Before the equipment was installed, an ISO color test used to take over one hour to produce, and there was no way of guaranteeing it would be perfect. Now, when running the profile test form, it takes less than 5 minutes to get perfect color profiles, and the actual system setups are nowhere near as expensive as they were previously, enabling us to provide our customers with further savings and improved quality.”
Winkowski Printing Sp. z o. o. was established in 1998 following the merger of “The Typographic Work” in Pila and the “Supercolor” printers in Radzymin. Between its three production facilities in Pila, Radzymin and Warsaw, it has 21 Heidelberg presses, including the latest gapless Goss Sunday 4000 press.
Mr Dylag concludes, “One of the big attractions of choosing QuadTech equipment is their close relationship with end users. It is very reassuring to know, with their experience, QuadTech can set up its systems exactly how the printer wants, and fully understand the impact that each system will have on its press.
“We are still looking to expand and invest in the business in the future and are already considering moving to QuadTech’s ICON platform for color control. Being able to move color data straight from prepress to on press is another leap forward, and will further improve makeready times. It is really the next step to increased productivity and quality, and one that means we will certainly be working with QuadTech again in the future.”